Capharnaüm

Also known as: Capernaum, Chaos

Genre: social drama  

With: Zain Al Rafeea (Zain Al Hajj), Yordanos Shiferaw (Rahil, a.k.a. Tigest), Boluwatife Treasure Bankole (Yonas, Rahil’s baby), Kawsar Al Haddad (Souad Al Hajj, Zain’s father), Fadi Yousef (Selim, Zain’s mother), Cedra Izzam (Sahar, Zain’s sister), Alaa Chouchnieh (Aspro the wheeler-dealer), Elias Khoury (the Judge), Nour El Husseini (Assaad the grocer), Tamer Ibrahim (Abou Assaad, the grocer’s father)

Director: Nadine Labaki

Screenplay: Nadine Labaki, Jihad Hojeily, Michelle Keserwany

Release: 2018

Studio: Mooz Films, Doha Film Institute, KNM Films, Boo Pictures, Synchronicity Films et al.

Rating: R

MBiS score: 8.7/10 

 

Delinquent with a Cause 

 

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Story-line: a 12-year-old Lebanese boy convicted of attempted murder forces his parents to appear in court so he can settle accounts with them.

Pluses: outstanding acting by Zain Al Rafeea (as the streetwise and resourceful Zain), Cedra Izzam (his loving sister), Boluwatife Treasure Bankole (adorable in a prominent role) and a strong cast of grown-ups, remarkable direction by an important Lebanese helmer, a restless, forceful and far-reaching screenplay that raises issues of parental neglect, poverty and survival, Christopher Aoun’s startlingly informative camera work, irreproachable production values and a beautiful, tormented musical score by Khaled Mouzanar.

Minuses: this movie is quite bleak… but so involving that you will drink in everything on screen. The comments on the movie poster above are all true.

Comments: it took me four minutes − those bracing scenes of Zain and immigrant women at the police station and that spectacular drone shot of kids running in the streets of a Lebanese city − to realize why the tragic and utterly pathetic CAPHARNAÜM garnered the Prix du jury at the Cannes Film Festival. In its careful recounting of Zain’s childhood and tribulations in a careless world, it balances misery, lawlessness and exploitation with nobility and courage in a believable and visually breathtaking way. Nadine Labaki, always a fine director, can be especially proud of this accomplished motion picture, one of the many gems produced by contemporary international cinema. Bravo Nadine! 

 

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Dimanches de Ville d’Avray (les)

English title: Sundays and Cybèle

Also known as: Cybèle ou les Dimanches de Ville d’Avray

Genre: psychological drama (in black and white)

With: Hardy Krüger (Pierre), Patricia Gozzi (Cybèle/Françoise), Nicole Courcel (Madeleine), Daniel Ivernel (Carlos), André Oumansky (Bernard)

Director: Serge Bourguignon

Screenplay: Serge Bourguignon and Antoine Tudal (based on a novel by Bernard Eschassériaux); dialogues by Serge Bourguignon and Bernard Eschassériaux

Release: 1962

Studio: Fidès, Les Films Trocadero, Orsay Films, Terra Film Produktion

Rating: for all

MBiS score: 8.6/10 

 

Appearances Can Be Deceptive

 

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Story-line: a retired military pilot, still tormented by the death of a child during a bombing run two years earlier in French Indochina, finds solace when he meets a little girl who has come to Ville d'Avray for schooling.  

Pluses: great performances by Hardy Krüger and Nicole Courcel as the adult protagonists and young Patricia Gozzi as the utterly believable Cybèle, a well-developed and finely observed screenplay, excellent direction and production values, superb photography by Henri Decaë and a suitable musical score by the renowned Maurice Jarre.

Minuses: none whatsoever. This film didn't inspire me much when I read its brief synopsis in a movie guide but, once I got into it, I was astounded by its human interest, dark undertones and artistic merit.  

Comments: LES DIMANCHES DE VILLE D'AVRAY, a universal fable about friendship, people's needs and the struggles of life, reminded me of two classic novels, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's beloved The Little Prince (for its powerful symbolism) and John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men (for its treatment of an ambiguous and morally delicate situation). This perfect movie garnered the Foreign Film Oscar in 1963. For good reason, I might add.

 

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